87.9 million vaccine doses were given in the United States

An American company makes progress in developing an anti-Coronavirus drug

People sitting in their vehicles waiting to be vaccinated in New Hampshire, USA.

Father

The giant pharmaceutical company "Merck" and an American laboratory announced that progress has been made in developing an anti-"Covid-19" drug to be taken orally. The drug, which is still under trial, has shown positive effects in reducing the viral load, while the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that 87 million 912 thousand and 323 vaccine doses.

At the end of January, Merck stopped its work on developing two potential vaccines for "Covid-19", but it is continuing its research on two other treatments for the disease, one of which is the drug "Molnopiravir", which it is developing in partnership with "Ridgback Bio" of America.

During a meeting with specialists in infectious diseases, drug developers indicated that the drug significantly reduced patients' viral load after five days of treatment.

"There is a need for anti-SARS-Cove-2 treatments that have not been met. These initial results encourage us," Ridgepack Bio chief drug officer Wendy Pinter said in a statement.

Merck is also working on a treatment called mk-711, and the group said, at the end of last January, that the first results of clinical trials showed a more than 50% reduction in the risk of death or respiratory failure in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe forms. From "Covid-19".

The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the health authorities distributed 116 million and 355 thousand and 405 doses of vaccines against the Corona virus throughout the country, of which they gave 87 million and 912 thousand and 323 doses. Our Moderna.

The Corona virus has caused the death of two million 588 thousand and 597 people in the world since the outbreak of the epidemic at the end of the year before last, and more than 116 million and 415 thousand and 200 people have been infected with the virus since its emergence, and the vast majority of the infected have recovered.

The day before yesterday, 8,431 additional deaths, and 406,668 new injuries were recorded in the world.

And the countries that recorded the highest number of new deaths, according to recent figures, are: the United States, where 1752 people died, then Brazil (1555) and Mexico (779).

The United States is the country most affected by the epidemic, as it recorded 524,362 deaths from between 28 million and 952 thousand and 953 injuries, according to Johns Hopkins University reference numbers.

In Italy, the government of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced that it is considering imposing stricter lockdown restrictions, including making the entire country a very dangerous "red" region, at least during weekends, to cope with a surge in Coronavirus cases.

The Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, told the newspaper "Corriere della Sera": "The second wave never stopped. We are witnessing a very large peak due to the mutated strains, which leads us to take more restrictive measures than ever before."

"Bloomberg" news agency reported that Speranza did not rule out turning the whole of Italy into a red zone, at least on weekends, and imposing a stricter curfew, and said: "It is clear that we will monitor the epidemiological situation, and adapt measures in light of the changes."

In Italy there is a three-tiered system that classifies regions according to low, medium and high risk, based on the number of cases, and the system includes closing bars and restaurants, imposing strict restrictions on the movement of people to prevent them from leaving their city or town, and several regions have already closed schools with the spread of mutated strains faster among Young.

In Sweden, the police dispersed hundreds of opponents of the restrictions imposed due to the Corona virus, who organized a protest in the capital, Stockholm, in violation of a ban on large gatherings.

Police closed a bridge in the city center, and said on their website that they had held a dialogue with the organizers to persuade the protesters to disperse. Television footage showed the police pushing some of the protesters, and the police said that six of them were injured and one of them was taken to hospital.

• The medicine reduced the patients ’viral load, after five days of treatment.

• Italy is considering imposing a tougher lockdown ... and Sweden's police disperse hundreds of opponents of the restrictions.

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